Well folks it’s the tale of two cities this weekend, that’s right I’m talking about Budweiser’s Made in America Festival. This year the festival is taking over both Philly and LA with performances from Kanye, Tiësto, Imagine Dragons, Kendrick Lamar, Pharrell, Kings of Leon, Iggy Azalea and much more. Yours truly will be heading down to Philly to cover off on everything BMIA — east coast style. If you are attending — awesome, see you children there. If not no worries there will be a live stream available. Made in America also has a Spotify profile (Philly playlist included below) so you can get an overall tone and feel for the acts in both Philly and LA.
A few acts that I’m keeping my eye on:
Bleachers
I’m sure everyone is aware of Jack Antonoff by now — but man do I love his new band Bleachers. Their debut album “Strange Desire” is amazing. “I Want To Get Better” was a solid introductory song to the band — but as you dive deeper into the album you will hit gems like “Shadow” and “Who I Want You To Love”. Check out the instrumentals in “Who I Want You To Love” — they rock.
Another song that hit me like a ton of bricks was “Like a River Runs.” One listen to this track and it will make you feel… things. I promise. For me it brought back a memory of a good friend who unfortunately passed in 2011. And while yes, I did cry (I’m a girl guys cut me some slack) I was reminded that music can have a powerful effect on our souls — inside and out.
Cherub
As we continue on in the Year Of The Caprese, the title of Cherub’s latest LP, I’m excited to see what the dynamic funk and electro pop duo has been up too besides popping bottles. But let’s get real for a minute, the moment they drop “Doses and Mimosas,” Philly is going to go off. Who’s excited?! This girl.
Baauer
I hope everyone does the “Harlem Shake” and then immediately follows with the #ALSIceBucketchallenge. A side from that, Baauer is also a Philly native. Let’s see what he brings in his hometown.
Now that the Divine Fits are on hiatus, Spoon is continuing your regularly scheduled program. We thank you. The Austin, TX group is back in festival mode primed and ready to show off work from latest record They Want My Soul. Never having put out a bad album, I’m interested to see how this album plays out against their previous releases, because if you’ve ever scene Spoon live — you know they never disappoint.
Bear Hands
Hailing from our own concrete jungle — these guys kill it. The band consists of Dylan Rau (vocals/guitar), Val Loper (bass), Ted Feldman (guitar), and TJ Orscher (drums). They kind of have a Passion Pit feel to them, except without the mental breakdown. Their new album Distraction is a good listen, one of my favorite tracks being “Agora”. Check them out — can’t wait to see what they bring to the stage this weekend. See you all out there!
Here’s the Official BMIA Philadelphia Playlist:
